Inzamam’s big statement for the crucial T20 World Cup 2024 match

After Pakistan’s humiliating defeat by the United States in Thursday’s match in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2024, former captain Inzamam-ul-Haq said the high score and wickets will have boosted the national team’s confidence for the conflict with India.

The Men in Green are set to take on powerhouse India in a high-stakes World Cup match on June 9 in New York.

Inzamam made a big statement about Pakistan’s expected performance in the match against the arch-rivals, in a video shared on his official YouTube channel.

“If our bowlers had scored well and bowlers had taken wickets, we would have gone into the match against India with a lot of confidence. India will come into the match with high morale but Pakistan will not. The match against USA was very important for us,” he said.

The former cricketer said Pakistan cricket was heading for a “downward course”.

“Babar Azam and co should sit down and think about the kind of cricket they are playing. But, looking at our cricket and our selection, I think our cricket is going down,” said the former right-hander.

The match between Pakistan and USA ended in a draw after 20 overs from each side, but Pakistan lost the encounter by five runs after failing to chase down 19 in the super over.

Pakistan set a target of 160 runs while batting first which USA managed to match on the last ball of the last over as they finished their innings on 159-3.

In the post-match presentation, Babar said they failed to score with intent in the powerplay.

“In the first six overs, we didn’t capitalize. Back-to-back wickets always put you on the back foot, as a batter you need to step up and build partnerships,” he said.

Babar mentioned that the same was the case with the ball, while stressing that spinners could not take wickets.

“We weren’t up to par in the first 6 overs with the ball. Our spinners also didn’t get wickets in the middle overs, so those things cost us,” he added.

“In the USA, they played better than us in all three divisions. A little damp on the pitch, it was also at two paces. As a professional you have to assess the conditions,” he concluded.